Stabilized styrol composition and process for making the same



60 .the start.

Patented Aug. 18, 1925.

UNITED STATES IWAN osrnoinsLENsKY r THE NAUGATUCK PORATION or CONNECTICUT.

CHEMICAL COMPANY,

AND MORRIS G. SHEPARD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNORS OF NAUGA'IUCK, CONNECTICUT, A COR- STABILIZED STYROL COMPOSITION AND PROCESS FOR MAKING THE SAME.

No Drawing. Original application filed Apri l 24, 1924, Serial No. 708,655. Divided and this application filed January 80, 1925. Serial No. 5,890.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that we, SKY and MORRIS .G. SHEPARD, a citizen of Russia and a citizenof the United States, respectively, both residing at New York, county of New York, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stabilized. Styrol Compositions and Processes for Making the Same, of W which the following is a full, clear, and

exact description.

This invention relates to stabilized styrol compositions and processes for making the same.

This invention is pending application Serial No. April 24:, 1924:.

a division of our co- 708,655, filed It has been found that if styrol is stored in a dark place for approximately four months about 20-30% of it will polymerize and the resultant product has a thick gummy consistency. Heating increases the rate of polymerization of styrol or solutions of the same. I

The principal object of the present invention is to provide astyrol composition which will be relatively stable during storage, and during processes of distillation involving temperatures at or somewhat above the boil- 80 ing point of styrol.

. he invention accordingly comprises st rol stabilized with an agent adapted su stantially to prevent polymerization. It also includes a process for stabilizing styrol which comprises combining therewith an agent adapted to retard polymerization substantially without altering the concentration of the styrol. In other words where styrol is in solution the relationship of the 40. st rol to the other materials present after a dition of the agent remains practically unchanged.

As an example of a preferred form of stabilized styrol, styrol either as such or in solutionis mixed with .251% of quinone,

based on the weight of the styrol present. Such com osition stored for approximately four mont s shows onl a trace of olymerlzation, the liquid still being as mo ile as at Such a composition also withstands heat treatment such as distillation in the presence of 1% of quinone. Distillation of 2 to 3 hrs. at about the boiling point of styrol, 146 (3., produces not more than IWAN Os'rnoMrsmN- omitted from the styrol 02-05% of polymerized styrol. On the other hand if quinone or similar material is and the same distillation is carried out a considerable quantity (10-20%) of styrol polymerizes during the heating.

Quinone is a member of a class of substances which is adapted to retard polymerization reactions. In general these substances are mild oxidizing agents of the type which, in an oxidation reaction, do not give up their oxygen in a gaseous form. Other members of this class of oxidizing agents, mentioned in our copending application Serial No. 708,655, filed April 24, 1924, are mononitronaphthalene, trinitrotol-uol, nitrobenzol, dinitrobenzol, trinitrobenzol and derivatives of these compounds.

Quinone retards pol merization up to a temperature of about 1&0 C. but above this temperature its action seems to be reversed and it then functions as an accelerator of lymerization. It is preferable therefore to add the quinone at temperatures below As many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention may be made in the treatment of styrol or its homologucs without departing from the spirit thereof, it will be understood that we do not intend to limit ourselves to the specific embodiments herein set forth except as indicated in the ap ended claims, we claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A processior making stabilized styrol which comprises mixing the styrol with an organic oxidizing agent containing :1. ben

26th day of J anua 1925.

IWAN STROMISLENSKY. Signed for making -stabilized styrol mixing styrol with quinone,

day of January% 1925. a MOR IS G. SHEPARD.

- laving thus described our invention, what zone nucleus in which oxygen replaces hyat New York, New York, this 28th 

